Ah, nostalgia: it seems like such a short time ago that anyone who believed in fighting climate change — and meeting our commitments under the Kyoto Protocol — was an anti-business extremist who lived in some kind of socialist dream world.
Time to add a few new dorms to that dream world, because some of Canada’s biggest names in business are moving in:
The leaders of a group of major Canadian corporations have called for urgent action on climate change, a major reversal of the business community’s position on the Kyoto protocol.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, the heads of Alcan, Bombardier, Shell Canada, Falconbridge, Home Depot Canada and Desjardins Group, among others, said Canada needs a 50-year strategy to deal with the fallout from climate change.
The letter, obtained by the Canadian Press, calls for a plan that goes well beyond the 2008-2012 timetable laid out in the Kyoto protocol.
“As corporate leaders representing a broad cross-section of the Canadian economy, we believe that all governments, corporations, consumers and citizens have responsibilities under the Kyoto protocol,” the letter says.
“The world must act urgently to stabilize the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and minimize the global impacts of climate change.”
Nice to have these stalwarts of commerce on board. The next time Tom D’Aquino claims to speak for the entire business community, remember — he doesn’t.
And just because business is against something today, doesn’t mean they won’t learn a little more and change their minds between now and tomorrow.
